Editing Pensacola Opera House

{{Infobox Building
|image=OldOperaHouseCrowd.jpg
|caption=Crowd outside Opera House on Jefferson Street
|name=Pensacola Opera House
|location=[[Jefferson Street]] at [[Government Street|Government]]
|architect=
|client=[[Daniel F. Sullivan]]
|engineer=[[A.V. Clubbs]], contractor<br/>[[Theodore Weber]], artist<br/>L. C. Bennett, brickwork
|owner=
|construction_start_date=
|completion_date=1883
|renovations=
|date_demolished=1917
|cost=
|structural_system=
|style=
|size=1,400 seats
|mapcode=
}}
{{For|the building that houses the current Pensacola Opera company|Pensacola Opera}}

The '''Pensacola Opera House''' was a 1,400-seat theater at the intersection of [[Jefferson Street|Jefferson]] and [[Government Street]]s, across from [[Plaza Ferdinand VII]]. Financed by timber magnate [[Daniel F. Sullivan]], it opened in [[1883]]. The building was heavily damaged in the two [[1916 hurricanes]] and demolished after receiving further damage from the [[Hurricane of 1917]]. Salvaged bricks and balcony railings were used in the construction of the [[Saenger Theatre]].

==Design==
The [[1885-1886 Pensacola City Directory]] says the following of the Opera House:
:'' The Pensacola Opera House, Government cor Jefferson. R. F. McConnell, Manager, Sullivan's Wharf. This Opera House has two tiers above the main floor, is supplied throughout with opera chairs, and has a seating capacity of 1400 people. The stage which is 50 x 60 feet has 15 sets of scenery, foot-lights and four boxes. The rent is $100 per night.''<ref>[http://www.rootsweb.com/~flescamb/1885appendix.htm] Courtesy Janet Myers.</ref>

In its issue of January 5, 1883, the Pensacola ''Commercial'' described the new opera house (quoted by [[Occie Clubbs]] in a [[1959]] article in the ''Florida Historical Quarterly''):
:''This was a two-story structure of brick with mansard roof, reaching a height of sixty feet, and extending 105 feet on [[Jefferson Street]] and 145 feet on [[Government Street|Government]].  The lower floor or parquet is very capacious and with a magnificent dome over-head lit by a chandelier with numberless gasjets will present an animated appearance.  There is a vestibule in front of each gallery landing for gentlemen to lounge entre-acts, and cloakrooms for the ladies who come in full dress.  The seating capacity is about 1200 and the building will be lighted by a 2000 light gas machine.  There are four boxes and the floor is covered with velvet carpet and the wrought iron rail is covered with red plush."'' <ref>Clubbs, Occie (January 1959). [http://fulltext10.fcla.edu/DLData/SN/SN00154113/0037_003/37no3.pdf "Pensacola in Retrospect: 1870-1890"].  ''Florida Historical Quarterly'', p. 385-387.</ref>

According to the trade magazine ''Boxoffice'': 
:''The second, or "peanut" gallery was set aside for Negroes, and a section of 15 seats was reserved for the demimondaine of the town (them's the naughty gals, kids).''<ref>"Compiling State Theatre History." ''Boxoffice'', July 6, 1946.</ref>

According to an article by Nathan Woolsey ("Pensacola History Illustrated, Vol. 6, No. 1, Summer 2002, p.17-18,"Benjamin Overman"), the Opera House, as well as many other buildings in Pensacola in that era, were designed by architect Charles Henry Overman (1849-1890), youngest son of Benjamin Franklin Overman (1797-1888).

==Guest Performers==
Some of the performers who graced the Opera House during its existence include:
{{colbegin|3}}
*[[Wikipedia:Sarah Bernhardt|Sarah Bernhardt]]
*[[Wikipedia:John Drew (actor)|John Drew]]
*[http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?id=5940 Grace George]
*[[Wikipedia:Billie Burke|Billie Burke]]
*[[Wikipedia:Lillian Russell|Lillian Russell]]
*[[Wikipedia:Maude Adams|Maude Adams]]
*[[Wikipedia:Anna Pavlova|Anna Pavlova]]
*[[Wikipedia:Richard Mansfield|Richard Mansfield]]
*[[Wikipedia:Mrs. Fiske|Mrs. Fiske]]
*[[Wikipedia:Madame Modjeska|Madame Modjeska]]
*[http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?id=14194 Amelia Bingham]
*[[Wikipedia:John Philip Sousa|Sousa's Band]]
{{colend}}

==Meeting place==
In addition to being a performance venue, the Opera House also hosted political rallies, public meetings, and other events.  In [[1908]], [[Streetcar operators' strike, 1908|striking streetcar workers]] held a rally at the Opera House.  In [[1912]], [[Wikipedia:Booker T. Washington|Booker T. Washington]] spoke at the Opera House during a visit to Pensacola.

==Bank==
{| align="right" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
|[[Image:OperaHouseBank.jpg|thumb|right|160px|Bank entrance at the northwest corner of the Opera House]]
|[[Image:OperaHouseANB.jpg|thumb|right|173px|American National Bank in the Opera House]]
|}In addition to the theater itself, the Opera House also housed the Sullivan brothers' [[First National Bank]], accessible through an entrance at the building's northwest corner. When that bank changed locations, the space was occupied by the [[American National Bank]].

==Pensacola Advertising Company==
In [[1902]] then-owner [[John M. Coe]] created the "Pensacola Advertising Company," a small poster business to promote the opera house. He took a business partner, [[Charles W. Lamar, Sr.]], in [[1905]]. When the two men dissolved their business relationship in [[1908]], the poster company went to Lamar and was renamed [[Lamar Advertising]]. According to Lamar company lore, "a coin toss was used to divide their assets," and Lamar "lost."<ref>[http://www.lamar.com/main/about/History.cfm Lamar Company History]</ref> Of course, the opera house was destroyed eight years later, while Lamar Advertising went on to become a billion-dollar multinational.

==Other images==
<gallery>
Image:Fnb-operahouse.jpg|Circa [[1883]], housing [[First National Bank]]
Image:OperaHouse2.jpg|Circa late 1800s
Image:OperaHouseFountain.jpg|The opera house as seen from [[Plaza Ferdinand VII]]
Image:Operahouse-1910.jpg|From [[Plaza Ferdinand VII]], circa [[1910]]
Image:OldOperaHouseSite2.jpg|Historical sign marks the site of the old opera house
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Historic theaters]]
[[Category:Demolished structures]]